The 52-year-old manager of the Chicago White Sox’ top minor league team, Skinner spent 15 years as a player before embarking on a coaching career that is in its 19th season.

But it all started for Skinner in Shelby – at a ballpark where few things look like they did when Skinner was a rookie minor-leaguer in 1980.

“I went there a year ago and a lot of things are still the same – the field, the old clubhouse, the high school football practice fields,” said Skinner, who is in his second season as manager of the Knights’ Class AAA International League team. “But they have a roof now and a larger concourse and larger grandstands and a better all-around facility.”

Skinner’s trip down memory lane came last May when he, his wife Jennifer and their youngest daughter Tara were going to use a rare Knights’ off day to visit the historic Biltmore House in Asheville.

“We all wanted to see the Biltmore House and I said, ‘Let’s go through Shelby and I’ll show you the high school stadium where I played my first year of ball at.’

“It was interesting. I went at the end of the school year and they were having a pizza party in the upper part of the ballpark.”

As Skinner noticed, what was called Veteran’s Field when he played for the Pirates had changed more than just its name; Now it’s Veteran’s Field at Keeter Stadium and it has hosted three American Legion World Series tournaments (and will hold it every year until at least 2019), two Legion Southeast Regionals and one N.C. Legion state tournament.

In 1980, Skinner was a 19-year-old rookie who had been the 37th-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates the year before. He was a part of the Pirates’ second (and last) Class A South Atlantic League team in Shelby.

Though the team finished 58-80 overall and at the bottom of the North Division standings in each half of the season, eight members of those Pirates would eventually play in the major leagues. Among them were Skinner, infielders Rafael Belliard and Doug Frobel and pitchers Jose DeLeon and Cecilio Guante.

“As bad as we were, we were all just a bunch of young kids having our first experiences in pro ball,” said Skinner, who played for Chicago White Sox (1983-86), New York Yankees (1986-88) and Cleveland Indians (1989-91) in his major league career. “I was just one year out of high school. Most of us were like that.”

Shelby Pirates’ team management arranged for homes for the players that season and Skinner still remembers – and can still find – the six-bedroom house a few blocks off DeKalb Street near downtown that he lived in with other players on the team.

“During the season, sometimes the manager (Joe Frisina) would put other guys in there to help with the rent,” Skinner recalled. “It worked out fine. I didn't have a car, but a couple of my roommates had cars, so that was great for me.”

Skinner, who came to the Pirates out of Mission Bay High in California, also remembers getting the outdoor swimming pool at the house up and running.

“It had an above-ground pool,” Skinner said. “I looked at the filter and got what I needed and we had that pool up and running in one afternoon.”

Creating an area for off-field relaxation aside, Skinner also has fond memories of his first professional season. He hit .225 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs in 100 games for the Pirates.

“I remember my first game in Spartanburg – and games in Gastonia, Asheville, Charleston, S.C., Greensboro, Macon, Ga.,” Skinner said. “What was hard at the time was all the commuting. About the third or fourth straight day up the hill to Asheville, it got a little tiresome.

“But Asheville was special. I hit my first home run there. I still have the bat. And I remember the date. I have it handwritten on the bat. It was my first experience with pro ball. That’ll always be a special memory for me.”

You can reach Richard Walker at 704-869-1841 or by twitter.com/JRWalk22